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Maison Louis Carré by Alvar Aalto

Today I thought I’d bring over this imagery that I found last night thanks to my random perusing, it always leads me into good spots around the web. Usually I start with a designer of some sort, this time Alvar Aalto, and I head out with the intention to learn something new and end up finding an abundance of great imagery that I can showcase here as well. Luckily it comes with a great story, such as this post which is based around a private residence that was designed by the Finnish architect on behalf of Louis Carré, a French art collector and gallery owner.

The Maison Louis Carré is possibly one of the most important private houses designed by Alvar Aalto because it brings together the work and the private life of the client. The house is located on a sloping, south-facing site of roughly three hectares with commanding views of the surrounding countryside in every direction. You can really see this in one of the photos below, it’s almost set into the ground and slopes downwards with the hill, the angle of the roof perfectly aligned with the land itself creating a seamless design within it’s surrounding environment.

What’s most extraordinary about this build is the way that Alvar designed every element of the building, including carpets, lighting, and obviously the furniture with the help of some collaborating friends. A lot of the fittings and the details were specifically designed for this building and were individual one offs, others were from Alvar Aalto’s range, most notably the chairs that were in production at the time. The Maison Louis Carré was meant to combine the work of skilled Finnish carpenters with the delicacy of French elegance, from what I can see this has definitely worked well on the finished piece and merges nicely together.

On a personal level I’ve read a lot about Alvar and his work and I’ve seen many things designed by him, one thing that grabs me with this place is how structurally this house is very functional. You’re moved around quite intentionally from one level to another level throughout the building, each having it’s own natural lighting which creates a ‘staggering’ type effect in the experience. This is important with the slope as you feel like you’re at one with the surrounding nature and general angle that the architect meant to initiate.

Obviously have a browse through the imagery that I’ve collected below, otherwise make sure you check out the links which gives you some extra info on the building. I’d recommend floating through the Maison Louis Carré website which even shows you some stunning sketches and architectural drawings of the building before it was produced.